Sen. Cynthia Villar has expressed concern over the apparent decreasing fish stocks through the years in the face of various challenges, including wide-scale illegal fishing and ocean pollution from the indiscriminate dumping of plastics.

Villar, chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, noted that from 70% wild catch and 30 % aquaculture, fish stocks are now sourced 50% from the wild and 50% from aquaculture and by 2022 it will 70% aquaculture, 30% wild catch and by 2050 it will 100% aquaculture.

To address this, Villar said she will continue to promote inland aquaculture, which is increasingly being taught in farm schools nowadays.